Another Electric Car Floperoo

This one in Israel. Time reports:

As promised, the landscape of Israel is dotted with battery-switching stations, 27 blue-and-white buildings bearing the logo of Better Place, the most ambitious electric car enterprise in the world. The batteries are right there too, rows of lithium-ion blocks that can be lifted in and out of the rear of a four-door Renault Fluence in a bit more than the time it takes to fill up at the pump.

The only thing that’s missing is the cars — or, rather, the people who want to drive them.

In six months, Better Place has sold only 500 cars in Israel, the country that was supposed to showcase the vision of its founder, Shai Agassi, who predicted 100,000 totally electric vehicles would be on the road by 2016, sticking it to the petroleum industry and the despots it funds. Instead, Agassi is gone, forced out as CEO last month because of mounting losses seated in the hesitancy of Israeli consumers to commit.

Read “A Smart Car Dream in Israel — Not So Smart After All?“

Shimshon

There’s another reason why this car is cheaper than gas cars. Normal cars are taxed at, well, I don’t know the exact rate, but I believe the total tax, including VAT, is north of 100%. Yes, well north. I remember hearing a few years ago that the tax on these cars was considerably reduced. You think the US $7500 rebate is bad? So, even without the battery. Even with the massive tax breaks, it’s only a LITTLE cheaper. And even though it’s cheaper (the US breaks don’t make the car cheaper than gas-powered), it still hasn’t gained traction (pun intended).
The truth

Not everything here is true… There is a lot more than what is said by the reporters…
Anonymous

Well clearly someone must be a racist.
Jeremy

So enlighten everybody. I’d be interested to hear more.
John B Campise

If the government was funding iPhone and ipad design, manufacture, and distribution, no one would want them either.
http://www.facebook.com/soulcyon Sashank Tadepalli

Tesla seems to be a much better competitor to gas guzzlers than what Better Place is trying to do. I do hope that Tesla and BP can strike some deals though – they are at the forefront of tomorrow’s automobile design.